JACKSONVILLE – It's for real now. At last.

The Jaguars on Sunday afternoon will play the Carolina Panthers in a 2025 Week 1 matchup at EverBank Stadium, a game with a series of firsts and key storylines for the home team.

The first Jaguars game for head coach Liam Coen.

The first game with a new offense.

The first game with a new defense.

Perhaps most important in the immediate is this: It's the first meaningful game for a new decision-making regime and new franchise direction after long months of discussion, preparation and anticipation.

"Everything's real now; everything counts," Jaguars linebacker Foyesade Oluokun said.

The Jaguars after a 4-13 2024 season changed directions as a franchise, hiring Coen as head coach and James Gladstone as general manager. Tony Boselli was hired as executive vice president of football operations, with Grant Udinski hired as offensive coordinator and Anthony Campanile hired as defensive coordinator.

That's a lot of new and Sunday marks the debut of that new against a franchise the Jaguars last played late in the 2023 season. The Jaguars won that game, 26-0, against a Panthers team that finished with the NFL's worst record that season.

The Panthers improved last season, winning two of the last three games, and enter 2025 as ascending team. The Jaguars believe they're ascending, too, and a victory in Week 1 is a chance to show they're right.

Here are 10 things the Jaguars must do to do that:

1. Run. Circle this one and get comfortable with it. Coen believes in the run and the sense here is he will stay committed to it until it's established. Dramatic improvement in this area keyed his 2024 season as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offensive coordinator. How close the Jaguars come to replicating that improvement will be a major storyline this season and could be critical Sunday.
2. Excel in the gray. Coen said this week the key for quarterback Trevor Lawrence will be how he plays when plays go off schedule. That's what Coen calls "the gray." Lawrence's development may be measured here and could decide a lot of games, including Week 1.
3. Get physical … Campanile emphasizes physicality and getting off blocks. The Jaguars must stop the run better than they did last season, and the first test is against a strong Panthers running game that features running back Chuba Hubbard. Physicality will matter Sunday.
4. … and take the ball away. The Jaguars forced a league-low nine turnovers last season, eight defensively. Look for Campanile's zone-based scheme with more eyes on the opposing quarterback to help that number improve quickly. There may be no quicker way for this defense to complement what appears to be an improved, quick-strike offense.
5. Respond to adversity. The Jaguars didn't do this well enough in 2024 or late in 2023 – when far too often one mistake sent momentum reeling irreversibly in the wrong direction. You don't win in the NFL if you can't overcome a bad break or two. This is a major focus for Coen and will be a measure of his first season as head coach. How will the Jaguars respond if they trail? If there's a turnover? That will be key Sunday.
6. Feel the need for speed. Wide receiver/defensive back Travis Hunter. Running back Bhayshul Tuten. Wide receiver Dyami Brown. The Jaguars added those players in the offseason and became significantly faster as a result. This team has a lot of players who can score from anywhere. That should be a major difference between 2024 and 2025 for the Jaguars' offense, and they need to be involved early and often.
7. Get BTJ and Hunter involved. They're the Jaguars' premier playmakers. They need the ball early in Week 1.
8. Hassle Bryce Young. The Panthers' starting quarterback improved late last season, with his development a key early Carolina storyline. Defensive ends Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker make up the strength of the Jaguars' defense. They must be the strength Sunday and pressure Young.
9. Be ready for physical. This is about the Jaguars' defensive backs versus Panthers wide receivers Tetairoa McMillan and Xavier Legette. McMillan and Legette are physical receivers and Jaguars cornerbacks Hunter, Jourdan Lewis and Tyson Campbell must win when the ball's in the air. "Those guys are pretty impressive on 50—50 balls," Campanile said. They present a challenge there." Said Coen, "We have to do a great job playing through their hands when we are at the point of attack, playing through our hands, playing with great technique but those guys probably have to take that a little bit personal in the DB room."
10. Just win. Game on.